Castine, Maine --- Junior guard Katie Pushard (Winthrop, ME) had a conventional three point play with 7.9 second left to propel the Maine Maritime Women's Basketball team to a hard fought 52-50 victory over Castleton State in a North Atlantic Conference game Friday night at Margaret Smith Chase Gymnasium. The Lady Mariners improved to 10-3 in the NAC while the Spartans fall to 9-4 in conference.

The Lady Marines battled from behind all game trailing by as many as 11 points midway through the second half. MMA turned up the heat on the defensive end of the floor in the second stanza forcing Castleton into 15 turnovers, which led to twelve transition points. MMA took the lead with 7.9 seconds in regulation for only the second time in the game when Pushard nailed a baseline jumper as she got fouled that gave MMA the 51-50 advantage. She hit her free throw and Castleton had one last possession to tie the score but Sam Goda (Eliot, ME) stole the inbound pass and sealed the victory for MMA.

Alexis Bennett (Freedom, ME) led the Lady Mariners with 14 points and 2 steals while Amethyst Cousins (Bass Harbor, ME) had a great second half performance scoring 10 points including two crucial baskets in the last two minutes. Casey Everest (Portland, ME) played well off the bench scoring 8 points while teammates Brittany Hunt (Hickory, NC) and Katie Pushard each added 6 points for MMA. Pushard also dished out 5 assists in the win.

Kristie Dunches (West Rutland, VT) led the Spartans with 16 points and 4 rebounds while Christine Jaques (Burlington, VT) scored 9 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Venessa Powers (Marshfield, VT) scored 8 points, dished out 3 assists and snatched 3 rebounds for the Spartans.

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday when the Spartans travel to Husson to take on the Eagles at 2pm. MMA will host Green Mountain College at 2pm with a chance to clinch the #2 seed in the upcoming playoffs.